The lectures were decent. He's a pretty engaging lecturer and gives loads of examples, solves practice problems, and derives all required equations in class. We used Kudu for in-lecture quizzes and weekly homework. While homework was pretty tough, the midterms were fair. Due to the COVID-19 situation, he gave everyone in the class a 100 on the final which was just amazing. Overall a good experience!

Yes Kusenko is top tier for responding immediately after the administration started recognizing the threat of the coronavirus by giving everyone 100s on the final (as it would be impossible to prevent cheating on the final, this was a very complicated situation and I am not dissing any other professors for their response, it was a hard time for everyone). Kusenko keeps his lectures very engaging with his funny Soviet stories and casual references to his outings with his astronaut friends. One caveat to his teaching style is that it is not that conducive to people without some degree of experience in physics already (although he is certainly easier to pick up than Corbin), such as people who have not taken AP Physics or the equivalent. I am not sure if it is a result of his easy-going personality, but the homework has problems that are significantly harder than most of the examples (with a few exceptions) done in class, which is where the previous experience with physics comes in handy the most. However, if you are willing to put in the work and take advantage of office hours and online videos, you will have a good time in this class and have a good foundation in physics.

P.S. I did not speak on grades because I am biased in having taken physics beforehand multiple times so the two midterms were easier for me, but be aware that grades for the midterms were high as a whole so do not rely on the curve to save you. If you study the Kudu problems and problems done in class then you will likely get a good grade as well.

Kusenko was a really solid professor. Honest, nice, and funny, pretty much everyone liked him.

Everything Kusenko does is on kudu, and the 'textbook' is on there as well which is a little hard to read because it's basically a wall of text. Then again, it's $20/35 depending on whether you're using kudu in another class during the same time, and that's a pretty decent price for something that's your textbook and homework book all in one.

Lectures were pretty engaging. He does some practical demonstrations which makes them fun, and in his two-hour lectures he gives you a 5-min break in the middle. Content was not that hard and we got through things quickly. HOWEVER, note that if you didn't take AP/IB physics or any physics classes in highschool it may be difficult to keep up with. The last two topics, Rotation and Gravitation, were something I hadn't encountered in highschool and so I found it difficult to get to grips with the concepts than with the other mechanics topics previously.

He'll give about 20 homework questions per week, some multiple choice and some you have to write-in. There are a few questions that are downright impossible, so either make sure you go to office hours for that or find a group of friends so you can cross out all the possible answers I guess.

Midterms were okay, I think the average was around 85 for both. Our final got cancelled because of the coronavirus and he gave us a 100% on it, so I can't really evaluate the final.

Also my TA was Marcos Flores and he's great. Super super helpful during office hours, if you email him about homework questions he will send you a document addressing your questions and giving you pointers to the right method to solve them. Love that guy.

Professor Kusenko is a great person, but honestly as a professor, his teaching did kind of bother me at times. During lecture he writes digitally and projects it onto a screen. This is great because everyone can see the board, but it's not so great because oftentimes he'd finish writing a page of notes and then wipe it clean right after. Many of us are left with nearly-completed notes and I often found myself having to compare with the people around me to make sure we get everything. The lecture notes can also become quite complicated and messy due to his note-taking style, but I did enjoy his demonstrations. They were nice pick-me-ups.

The homework starts off easy but gets more difficult as you progress through the assignment. He often adds very difficult grad-student level problems, but after the first midterm, I realized that he wouldn't test us on anything that difficult. It seems his strategy is to have us practice with difficult problems so that normal-difficulty problems become easier, which I can't really complain about. Both midterms were very fair (some problems just required extra attention detail, but not necessarily extra skill), but I can't speak for the final since he cancelled it due to the pandemic.

Overall, I think most people can handle this class comfortably. If you took AP Physics in high school (and did relatively well), you might still struggle with the homework like I did, but the tests should come quite easily to you. I do highly recommend taking Kusenko because his tests aren't too hard to self-study for even if you don't click with his teaching. He's definitely more fair than some other 1A professors!

Kusenko is an absolute legend. Love this man. If you have the option to take him, I highly recommend. His in-class demonstrations are next level. He does take a very calculus-based approach to basic physics, which can be a bit confusing, but the online Kudu readings do a great job of clarifying. Just make sure you read ahead before each lecture!

Kusenko makes his lectures very engaging with cool demonstrations about physics concepts. Show up to every lecture to do your Kudu questions, and make sure to do all the homework. His homework is harder than what he teaches in class, but it is manageable. Understanding this will help on the exams greatly. I felt the first midterm was harder than the second, but both were fair. We did not have a final due to the coronavirus, but he gave everyone a 100% on it! Kusenko is very nice guy and I would recommend this course.

LEGEND. Anyone who took this class in 2020 winter quarter will say the same. Overall he gives 10%As and 30%A- or if you get over 94 and 90 respectively. However for my quarter and year everyone got a 100 on the finals! So clearly a lot of grade inflation resulted. Overall the lectures weren't that great but the homework problems were good and the tests were easy, he is extremely helpful and clear during office hours so go for them.

G. O. A. T. 🙏

Everything about this dude is great!

Kusenko is one of the most understanding professors you can get. UCLA cancelled classes due to coronavirus 4 days before the final exam so Kusenko cancelled the final gave everyone a 100% . Although this was a special case scenario, he's also worth taking under usual circumstances. His tests are very fair, and the most challenging questions were presented in class. Other than that, test questions come directly from the homework or in class questions. Even when classes were cancelled, he hosted on-line office hours via video chat, which were very helpful. The material of 1A is a repeat of AP Physics C, so if are familiar with that material you will be able to do well in this class without too much effort. You are also allowed a cheat sheet on exams with whatever you want written on it (so if you're lucky, you may write down a question from class that will pop up on the midterm). Take Kusenko, no question.